The present invention concerns a device designed to bring about coordination of the movements of operative members incorporated in a machine or a plant, wherein the displacement of each individual member from one position to the next to perform a working operation depends on the displacement of one or several of the other operative members.
Such coordination of the movements of various operative members is essential in many machines designed to manufacture products of various kinds, to package products in wrapping or to transport them to various stations in a machine. Usually such machines include a programming mechanism of some kind which by mechanic, pneumatic, hydraulic or electric means ensures that the correct operative members carry out their working operations in the correct time sequence and to the exact extent.
A common feature in all prior-art machines is that the programming mechanisms included therein inevitably become extremely complicated when the number of operative members included rises and their movement patterns are becoming more complex. As a result, the machines become considerably more expensive to manufacture while at the same time their operation reliability often drops, thus increasing the risk of operational shut-downs.